Our knowledge of the molecular mechanisms underlying signaling of mechanical stimuli by muscle spindles is incomplete. In particular, the ionic conductances that sustain tonic firing during static muscle stretch are unknown. In this podcast, Editor-in-Chief Bill Yates (University of Pittsburgh) talks with researchers Tim Cope (Georgia Institute of Technology) and Dario Carrasco (Georgia Institute of Technology) about their work looking at the distribution of voltage-gated sodium channels in primary sensory endings of mammalian muscle spindles. Is it possible that voltage-gated sodium channels contribute to multiple steps in sensory signaling by muscle spindles? What do their findings tell us and where will they lead to next? Listen and find out.
Distribution of TTX-sensitive voltage-gated sodium channels in primary sensory endings of mammalian muscle spindles Dario Ivan Carrasco, Jacob A. Vincent, Timothy C. Cope Journal of Neurophysiology, published online January 25, 2017. DOI: 10.1152/jn.00889.2016 .